Spirit defeated Orlando for the second time in 2025, ending their undefeated streak at home

On Saturday afternoon, the Washington Spirit and Orlando Pride faced off for the second time in a month inside Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, FL. The last time was in early March when the Spirit walked out victorious in the Challenge Cup Final. 

Once again, the Spirit walked away victorious out of Inter&Co Stadium with a 1-0 victory, snapping a 22-game unbeaten streak the Pride had at home. The last time Orlando had lost at home was on August 25th, 2023, when they lost 2-1 to the San Diego Wave. 

This was also the first road victory Washington got against Orlando since October 2019. 

“Everyone knows the tactics and being prepared for when they do have to step up. We had a lot of people step up in roles that maybe they haven't played before,” said Spirit defender Tara McKeown.

Gift Monday celebrates her first goal as a Washington Spirit player. Photo Credit: Washington Spirit

Rodman out indefinitely 

Before Saturday’s match, the Washington Spirit's injured list included star forward Trinity Rodman listed as out in the availability report for the match against Orlando. 

In the hours before the match, it was confirmed that Rodman would be out indefinitely from playing to focus on her recurring back issues. 

“Trinity is taking time away from team activities to manage her back,” the Spirit said in a statement. “We look forward to her returning when she’s healthy.”

Rodman is scheduled to travel to London to receive treatment. The Washington Post first reported on her status. 

After the match, Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez briefly spoke about Rodman’s absence post-game and said: 

“Being honest right now, it’s too soon to speak about that. Today I was focused on the game,” head coach Jonatan Giráldez said about Rodman’s injury. “In the next few days, I will have more information, and I will be able to share it with all of you.” 

Rodman, who has been battling back issues since the end of last season, addressed this during the post-game press conference last month after Washington’s match against Bay FC. 

“I don’t think my back will ever be the way it was in my rookie year, which is unfortunate,” said Rodman. 

Rodman has played a total of four games this season, making one start, making her 2025 season debut in the Spirit’s 2-1 victory over the Houston Dash, coming in as a substitute. 

Rodman recently played for the US Women’s National Team during the last FIFA window in a pair of friendlies against Brazil. Scoring the game winner against Brazil in the friendly that took place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. 

She played 45 minutes in the Spirit’s 2-0 victory on the road against Racing Louisville last weekend. 

The Game

Orlando would have the first big goalscoring opportunity of the game in the 21st minute after a shot from distance from Kerry Abello was parried away by Aubry Kingsbury to give the Pride a corner kick. 

The Spirit would create its goal-scoring opportunity a few minutes later after Ashley Hatch took a shot from the semi-circle, however, her attempt went out for a goal kick.  

The Pride had a chance to go into halftime in the lead after a chip pass from Angelina found Haley McCutcheon open inside the box. McCutcheon was able to get a one-time shot in the air, but her opportunity went wide of Kingsbury's net for a goal kick. 

“I think 99 percent of the match we did well. I thought we played with a real intensity,” Pride coach Seb Hines said.” I thought we put Washington under immense pressure, and obviously, we need to capitalize on those moments. The frustration is when you dominate a game and don't get anything out of it, we shouldn’t put ourselves in that position. I’m a bit disappointed with the result. I thought the performance was good, but we have to move on.” 

The Spirit opened up the scoreline in the 63rd minute. After a back pass was played back to Orlando goalkeeper Anna Morehouse, the goalkeeper was looking for an open teammate, not aware that forward Gift Monday was running full steam ahead in her direction. Monday stole the ball from Morehouse and placed the ball into the back of the net for the game’s only goal and the Nigerian international’s first goal as a member of the Spirit.

“I know her pretty well from her time in Spain,” Giráldez said. “A few years ago, she played as a left winger at Tenerife. Today, she had a specific role: attacking to stretch the field as much as possible and create space in the pockets. I’m very happy for her. It wasn’t an easy task, playing her first games with so many players unavailable.”

Orlando thought to have found the equalizer in the 81st minute on a Marta corner kick that came in swinging inside the box. Kingsbury was to handle the ball in the air, bouncing off of Esme Morgan, to go into the back of the net. However, the referee went to VAR to validate the goal. Upon further review of the play, it was determined that Kylie Nadaner interfered with Kingsbury, disallowing the goal all together. 

“The strength of this team is the sum of the players, and we’ve always had a strong sense of togetherness,” said Kingsbury. “There are a lot of people that we wish were out there on the field with us, and hopefully, some will be getting back soon here, but everyone who’s got an opportunity to play has stepped up and done really well. I am really proud of just our versatility and the overall fight and togetherness.” 

With this result, the Spirit is currently tied for second place with the Pride in the standings with 12 points. 

The Spirit travels back to D.C. for a much-anticipated rematch of last year’s playoffs when they face Gotham FC at Audi Field. The game takes place on Saturday, April 26th, with kickoff at 1 pm.